The Devil Made Me Do It!

How many times have you heard this, thought this and embraced this thinking? We do something that later we realize (or realize it while we're doing the deed) it wasn't such a great thing. Or maybe we think it once we're caught and we're looking for a good excuse for having done it. Is 'the devil made me do it' a good way to divert the blame away from the source of the wrong or is it truly some natural force of evil that makes us do the things we wish we didn't do but continue to do? At what point do we finally take responsibility for ourselves and place recognition of weakness where it belongs?

This is a question I wrestle with often when I'm watching the news and hear some story about a murder, an abuse...an act that I believe goes against what God has in mind for us humans...a sin.

Often we hear about an abuser being abused themselves as a child and that person's current actions are then blamed on the parents. Or more specifically the story of the sports figure engaging in organizing and participating in dog fighting resulting in the injury, abuse and death of animals. One story goes that he grew up participating in this activity therefore he 'didn't know any better'. Or let's go even farther...adults who, as a result of a wrong done to them, end up abusing themselves with all kinds of destructive behavior all the while blaming the actions of those in their past for their current state of mind.

It seems to me that as we all grow, mature and stretch our understanding of self it is our own responsibility to name our own sin and weaknesses for what they are...OUR OWN SIN AND WEAKNESSES. Stop blaming everyone else and take a long close look at how you will decide to define yourself apart from everyone else and everything else...as an individual. Once we claim our behavior rather than allowing 'the past' to define it, our journey to freedom begins.